


Rain or Shine

by GaoXuan



Category: Kikaider
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Amnesia, And Artificial blood, Angst, Anti-Hero, Blood, Character Death, Drama, F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Cannibalism, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Road Trips, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2019-10-14 22:24:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17516948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaoXuan/pseuds/GaoXuan
Summary: One day, a girl meets a mysterious young guitarist who tells her a story that happened a long time ago——After the collapse of world civilization for unknown reasons, Mitsuko, a heartbroken girl without her parents, lives with her only known living relative, her little brother Masaru. On her 18 birthday, they encountered one of the urban legends——post-apocalyptic humanoid. The man who saved them both was a young man with a guitar on his back, Jiro. He had the appearance of the young girl's dead brother, and he was also a non-human. When Mitsuko learned from him that her father was not really dead, she took her brother and he embarked on a journey to find her father...





	1. Visitor

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting work on AO3, I feel a little nervous...  
> But still hope you can enjoy it, and give me some advice : )
> 
> My native language is not English, so some sentences may be stiff or strange, please forgive me : (
> 
> As you can see, this is a Kikaider's AU. Please let me know if there are any grammatical mistakes.
> 
> It's also a story of a 'puppet' becoming a 'human'. But I hope it's not as sad as the original.  
> If you have any Suggestions or comments, please let me know.

"I still remember what happened that day."

"Everything around it has changed, becoming broken and strange, except for broken roads and collapsed buildings, as well as large blood and bodies."

"What happened in that month is what I want to forget but I will never forget."

"From that time on, the 'daily' that I am familiar with is no longer in this world. It has changed and become strange."

"But these are not what I care most about."

"Because that month, that month before we were safe, I... did a thing that could not be forgiven."

"...my mother and I…I'm sorry…"

* * *

**Chapter 00 Visitor**

 

She was dressed in black, very casual, and looked like an unattended child. The only baggage was the small satchel on her shoulder with a metal pendant, which looked very worn. Even the little pendant was faintly rusty.

Now, she thinks she is on the road to run away from home. It took her several hours to get from her hometown to the this city after she bought the cheapest ticket at random.

It looks like there's just been a heavy rain. The ground is very wet and the sky has not yet recovered from the overcast.

"Hah, just coming to this place is cloudy, it seems that my luck will be very bad..."the girl joked to herself, but then laughed,"Haha, I am not a superstitious person, why say such a thing..."

She opened the map and looked at the geography of the city.

"First of all, I have to rent a place to sleep..." The girl went out of the station and murmured to herself. Just as she went out, she met the cold air left by the rain. With a shiver, she pulled her hat over her head and continued to read the contents of the paper.

"Ha…I committed any stupid, how this kind of thing will be marked on the map?" She patted her head and hoped to throw out the culprit of all sorts of strange thoughts in her mind—if it was.

"No way out…can only watch the advertisements on the street..." the girl stretched a lazy waist to put the map in her bosom and stepped onto the street.

Her eyes did not escape any advertising, trying to find a place to rent a house. If she can't find it, she'll have to live in a hotel - that's expensive.

"HMM... Is there a job opening here? Write down the address first...Missing Notice？……Ah! I found it!"

With a triumphant smile, she wrote down the address, along with the job listing address.

"Very well, so now there was only one problem... "

She looked around, looking for a road sign.

"How do I get there?"

————————————————————————

"Oh, Geez! kidding! On the other side of town! I'm exhausted... and it's really dark here... "

The girl made the decision she most regretted in her life —— to save money and decided to walk to the destination.

And here it's a mess.

Old high-rises line up almost side by side, blocking the sky and surrounded by old garbage cans, which have already exceeded the limit of their capacity, and finally fall to the ground, the contents of which roll down to the ground.

"... I hope house is clean… "

Before she could reach her destination, however, she crashed into a body.

"Hey! Don't you walk with eyes? " The other side asks angrily.

"Ah! "she rubbed the bruised forehead and apologized, “S……Sorry……”

However, she looked up, her expression began to be a little nervous.

The other side is a very poorly dressed guy, at first look what a troublesome person.

And the other party also seem to see clear oneself is a girl, suddenly exposed on the face malicious smile: "'Sorry'? Do you think saying sorry will solve the problem?"

_'Oh, no. I met a who was unreasonable.'_

"I…I…"

The other party's laughter is more rampant and obscene.

"Well little girl, if you are willing to accompany me to sleep for a night, I'll forgive you! "

She knew what he meant -- 'NO WAY! NOT ON YOUR LIFT! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!'

But before she could think, he grabbed her arm.

"LET ME GO! "

"What? Don't you want to apologize? Then prove it with action! "

"Or are you already desperate to do it here? "

"HE-HELP! "

"No one here will help you-"

But before he could finish, he felt someone's hand on his shoulder.

"Who ah! ? Don't you see I'm busy! ? "He looked back angrily to see who the blind guy was.

 

**"It's enough, she apologizes."**

 

The man who put his hand on the hooligan's shoulder said, It was a young man's voice, sounding like he had just come of age.

His voice was gentle, but there was a firmness about it.

He glared at the broke he "good deed" young man——He has a flowing black hair, suggested of the soft cat fur. His face was neutral and good-looking, but the only fly in the ointment is that he's left eye is entangled in white bandage, Just the right eye is sending out the beautiful blue. Well, the faces that little girls like. And he looks are only 18 to 20 years old, very young.

One of the goggles, with cracked lenses, was worn over his unruly hair. He was wearing a long yellow shirt over a worn-out denim jacket with holes in it. He wore a yellow metal choker around his neck and a pair of black gloves on his hands, can vaguely see his fingertips exposed. The bottom of his blue jeans was badly torn, show a section of the calf and a pair of black Martin boots.

He looked like he was wearing worn-out clothes all over his body, but the worst part was his outermost cape——which looked as if it had been stitched together in different colors cloth.

And the guitar he carried, covered with tape.

Like a wandering minstrel. Probably.

"Hahahahaha!' He couldn't help laughing. It seemed that this idiot was really stupid, He was losing his life, 'you look so gentle and frail-looking, I advise you to turn away now! Or you will die here!"

"Really?' The young man's eyes narrowed a few millimeters, 'I bet you can't kill me."

"Boy you're so arrogant! ?" The other person is obviously enraged, "Okay! Since you want to die, that I help you! " With that, he drew out a sabre and stabbed at the youth.

"Look out! " She cried out anxiously, not wanting the stranger to die trying to help her.

However, the young man did not care about it at all. When the knife was about to touch him, the kind man with the guitar almost dodged the attack easily.All this seems to be happens in a flash.

"What the…"The hooligan was obviously frightened, had not responded to come over, the belly got another kick of the other party.

He turned around in a rage and tried to put his hand pinch the man's neck, but found that he was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey," The hand was again on his shoulder and the hooligan was startled. He turned his head and saw that the young man did not know when appeared behind him. Then the hand squeezed hard——

His shoulder began to ache, just like a bone to be crushed, his knife fell to the ground and fell to his knees and screamed.

"You were trying to pinch my neck, right? "

"Sorry, pinch neck others this kind of thing, I have done many times before, so I know what you want to do."

"So now, do you want to do anything wrong to this young lady?" The young man changed the subject, and there was a note of seriousness in his voice.

"I-I-I dare not! Please give me a break!" He was frightened——this is no exaggeration, but the young man and she both saw "water" on the guy's pants, and it was getting bigger and bigger. Inversely proportional to the "water", is the hooligan arrogant attitude disappeared without a trace, can not be found again.

————————————————————————

"Ah! Thank you for saving me!" The girl expressed her thanks to him though she was amazed at his speed and strength.

He turned his eyes to her and cautiously asked: "Are you all right? Injured?"

Only the pure concern, totally different from his previous tone.

"No, thanks for asking…" she smiled and shook her head, "…You are amazing. I didn't think you could beat that terrible guy up! "

"That kind of person is easy for me to deal with... what are you doing here? It's a dangerous place. You're not supposed to be here."

"Oh, I've come to rent! I found the AD outside," she said, "the address is right here." Then she took out that paper and gave it to him.

He took the blank sheet of paper with the destination on it, read what it said, and then looked up at her, looked embarrassed.

"In fact, I think you're going the wrong way——the destination on the paper is on the other side of the city."

"What! ?" 'she exclaimed, taking back the paper and examining it carefully. Then she looked up at the road sign. He was proved right.

Then, like a bolt from the blue, she froze in place.

Yeah, it's just that she's remembering it wrong, she actually already passed the destination. Obviously there is only one word difference but places are worlds apart.

The recorded name of the destination told her silently that she had walked for hours in vain.

 

**"NOOOOOOOOOOOO! What should I do? ! I'm so careless! "**

 

He looked up at the sky and saw that it was beginning to get dark.

"If this lady doesn't mind, come and spend the night at my place." He invited her with a smile.

The girl looked at him in surprise, as if to think whether to say yes. Judge not from appearance, not to mention he has amazing speed and power, giving people a sense of mystery. And his left eye…she wondered what happened to his left eye, but she will not take the initiative to ask out of politeness.

Don't offend others out of curiosity.

"Don't worry, I swear by my **Gemini** , I won't do anything bad to you." He seemed to see what was bothering her, spoke before the girl spoke.

" **Gemini?** " The girl couldn't help laughing when she heard the name, "It's a strange. It sounds like things fitted on the robot…or a android."

"Android…"A strange expression appeared on the his face, but it soon disappeared.

"Oh, I meant no harm! "The girl hurriedly explanation, afraid the other party is not happy, "So…please? "

The young man's face just showed a weak smile.

"It doesn't matter, I'm not angry... Come on, follow me."

So they headed for youth's home before the sun sank below the horizon.

————————————————————————

"Why did you come to this city? "He asked when the girl said her name and that she was" from somewhere else."

"My parents kicked me out," she replied. "they said I was going to be independent, so they let me go out to earn a living. As for why I chose to come here...At that time, I felt a voice in my heart telling me that coming here was the best choice."

"I see…"

"... Well, not exactly, 'she added, 'My parents actually had their 40th wedding anniversary coming up, and they were going to have a private space of lovers, so they took the opportunity to kick me out."

"Is that so..."

"Well…I don't even know your name! What's your name? " The girl found the content very embarrassing, so quickly changed the subject.

"Me? You can call me Jiro. "He replied.

"Surnames? "

"Surnames... "He looked up, thought for a moment, and slowed down a little,"'Komyouji', This is my Surname…probably."

"'Probably'? "The girl frowned, not knowing why he said so.

"Yeah, probably," replied the young man affirmatively,and stopped at a door connected to a rather shabby apartment, "Now I live on the top floor of this apartment, but the stairs to the top floor are broken and it's going to take a long time to get fixed, so we have to get in by other means."

"So, what is it?"

"Climb the ladder."Jiro said, pointing to the metal ladder on the wall.

"Huh? !"

"Don't be afraid, come on."

The girl finally decided to follow his advice and watched as he began to climb the ladder up the side pipe to the top of the apartment...

"Is it so much trouble getting home..." The girl followed him closely, muttering to herself.

Soon, a window appeared in front of them. In front, Jiro took out the key and opened the window.

"Here we are, come in."With these words he crept into the room, and then held out his hand to help her.

"Sorry to trouble you, Mr Komyouji."The girl thought he was funny, and the corners of mouth turned up slightly.

"Don't call me that. It's too formal. Please call me Jiro."

"Okey, I come in, Jiro."She grabbed his hand and climbed into the room.

There were very few things and little space, just a table, five chairs, a sofa, a fireplace, a coat stand and a lamp. But even so she could see that the owner of the home had kept it very clean.

"Jiro, do you live alone? "She asked, looking at the five chairs.

"Yes, but sometimes my brothers and friend come over, so I am preparation five chairs." He put his cloak on the clothes rack and answered the guest.

"Well...Where are you sleeping? There seems to be no bed... "She looked around and looked for the furniture that she could lie down to sleep.

"...The couch. You sleep on the couch, too. " After a few seconds, he answered her question.

"But if I sleep on the couch, where do you sleep? "The girl looked around to see if there was anything that could replace the "bed".

"Um...sit in a chair and lean over on the table to sleep?" Jiro replied uncertainly, then he was amused by his own words.

_'Is it a joke? '_ She laughed too.

"I'm going to light the fire first to warm it up. People often say it's cold here these days." Jiro changed the subject and picked up a box of matches from the table. A few minutes later a warm current appeared and warmed the room.

The girl sat in front of the fireplace, stretched out her hands to warm herself. She stared at the fire and saw Jiro pick up the guitar and sit on the floor beside that fire.

"Can you play the guitar? "She tried to find something to talk about, but soon felt stupid——Superfluous, wasn't it? He had been carrying that guitar when she first met him!

"Yeah, although it is a guitar that has been repaired many times, but I still don't give it up, because it carries too many memories."As he said this, he undulated the string with his fingers, and the tattered antique made a pleasant sound.

"Are you a street guitarist? "She wondered what this young man, who looked about her own age, did for a living.

"Sometimes." He continued to pluck the strings to create more melodies.

"this music let me think of a story. "She expressed her first feelings.

"Your instincts are sharp, " he closed his unbandaged right eye, as if to immerse himself in melody, "this is 180 years ago."

"180 years ago? Much of the world was still a wasteland then, because 'apocalypse' destroyed the world——and there's no telling exactly how that disaster came about.Some say the disaster began when aliens destroyed the world, some say the government ran a secret experiment, but the failure of the experiment spread around the world, and others say the disaster was god's punishment for human beings -- which is why the disaster was named 'apocalypse'. "

"After all, already no humans know the truth about 'apocalypse' now." He suddenly said this.

"Eh? You mean, does anybody know? " She approached him.

"Once upon a time, some humans knew." His right eye was still closed, "…Want to hear the truth? "

"You know the truth? "

"If I say 'yes', would you believe it? " He asked.

"Then I will! So please, tell me! " She was a curious person, eager to know why, and especially what 'apocalypse' was all about, It doesn't matter if it's fake. If she can, she will choose to take it seriously.

Jiro opened his right eye, but soon closed it again.

"A few hours before humans go to sleep, I'll tell you a story. This is the story of how the 'apocalypse' happened -- if you can bear to listen to things that have nothing to do with the truth of the 'apocalypse'."

"The story of wasteland? Is there a story on the wasteland? "

"There will always be stories, no matter what the era. "

"So on that piece of waste ground, have what story?"

"Be patient, let me tell you slowly. "His voice is very light.

  
The melody began, as if it were the beginning. She held her breath and listened intently as the mysterious minstrel recounted what had happened 180 years earlier.

"This story happened a long, long time ago. At that time, the world experienced the baptism of 'apocalypse', became desolate, civilization collapse, people living were filled with untold suffering, Many of them tore off the masks they had worn for so long, and many people became a thief or a robber, to plunder other people's things to make themselves survive."

"The world that used to be orderly becomes chaotic, the once weak also choose to take up arms against the thieves and robbers who may appear at any time in order to survive."

"One day, in this desolate land, there was a violent rainstorm under the sky. That night, a 'puppet' had no choice but to come to this desolate world. He can only know what the Past world looked like through photo albums and other people's descriptions."

"At that time, the 'puppet' stayed in the cradle of his birth——the laboratory, where he was constantly shut down and restarted by his creator, constantly perfected and modified, until one day the creator suddenly and urgently let him leave, That's when he really contacted the world."

"Anyway, 'puppet' feels lonely. But luckily, he had friends and three brothers. However all of whom were different from him -- 'puppet's elder brother had no sense of morality and was like a wayward child, the youngest had no feelings and no sympathy, and the other...he unilaterally make an enemy of 'puppet', and think about how to kill him."

"But in any case, even if the 'puppet' is not willing, he will fight to protect the people he cares about—his friends, his brothers, and his…lover."

"It's a story of a 'puppet' becoming a 'human' being…"

The girl sat beside him, listening intently, while the rain hit again, blurring everything outside the window...

 


	2. Rainstorm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "For various reasons, I won't tell you the real names of the characters in the story…We call the hero——'The Fool'. Well, he's the 'puppet' I was talking about. And the heroine, let's call her the 'Magician', the day she met a robber on her way home, she shot and wounded him without fear."
> 
> "Oh! At the beginning of this story, the heroine shoots at a bandit! And 'Magician'? emmm…Is this a post-apocalyptic TAROT story? "
> 
> "HMM...No, I just think they fit into these TAROT."

He walked alone in the wilderness, with his hands in the bosom, as fast as if something were chasing him.

Soon a smile came over his strained face——he saw his destination, the house still reassuring him amid the ruins of the city.

Quickly walked past, he finally put his hands out of his arms, the things in hands on the dusty table.

It was a picture frame with a family photo inside, can see that was many years ago.

With a sad expression on his face, he reached out his rough hand and gently stroked the smiling boy and the young girl in the photo.

"I'm sorry... " he murmured.

**Chapter 01 Rainstorm**

* * *

"Hey little girl! hand over what you got!"

She knew he was calling her, but she didn't want to talk to him. She knows what he wants.

In her hand she was holding a bulging bag that looked as if it had a lot of stuff in it. With so many supplies, who wouldn't want to take them? And it's owned by a girl. She knows that.

In this era, few people will sympathize with strangers, and everyone will try his best to live, so many people become thieves or robbers, no matter the other person is a woman or a child, as long as there is something valuable on their body, they will plunder it.

It's been a long time since that disaster, but the world is still very awful. Many people have gathered together to build cities called "country," but there are still some people standing alone on this land. They are called——"Vagrant".

She's a Vagrant, she is, and so is her little brother. Maybe some people think she's a fool——a girl who doesn't choose to protect herself by joining others, but she has her reasons.

It's not that these shelters aren't great. Everyone knows that the best of these cities is Jesus Town, which is said to be free from disease, hunger and war, but it is very difficult to get into.

And the people who went in never came out, So that's what makes this mysterious town so weird.

Now she kept her head down and hummed, as if she had not heard his threat. She not afraid him.

"Feed! I'm talking to you, chick! Give me what you have in your hand! "

Her displeasure chut a sound and slowly raised her head, black eyes were only annoyed and impatient.

"Did you hear little bitch? I'm impatient! "

She squinted her eyes, and then——

"Are you…robbing me?" Voice only ridicule.

He was already furious.

"superfluous! If you don't, I'll kill you now! "

She raised her eyebrows, sarcasm growing more pronounced.

  
"Well, it seems that, You're not going to let me go, right? "

"If you will give me your bag, and 'a thing' of your body for the time being, I will consider letting you off."

There was an expression of disgust on the girl's face. She knew what he meant by "a thing" about herself.

There have been times when men have asked themselves "how much is it for a night?", but she has booed them away. Some men are not willing to give up, intend to force her, but in the end... You can't say they're missing arms and legs, but she did protect her virginity.

They forget one important thing——in this day and age, don't look down on anyone, anyone who lives to this day either has strong rely on, or a tough one.

"Sorry, Sir. I'd rather sacrifice myself for the 'first time' to an iron rod." She taunted him, then watched his face twitch and pulled out the knife.

"Little bitch, you need a lesson!" Furious, The robber shouted, ready to attack her.

She looked at him coldly and put her hand on waist as he rushed over——

At the sound of a gunshot, he fell to his knees, clutching his leg and screaming.

The muzzle of the gun in the girl's hand was still smoking. She squinted at the robber, who had been in a rage for last second. but now, his furious gone and face twisted with pain.

"Now, are you still trying to rob me? "

He raised his head and spat at her, but missed her. Her disdain grew more and more evident.

"No give in? But I don't think you have the strength to continue with your plan, "she said, mocking, "It's dark, my family is coming home, you stay there to treat wounds or wait for your companions to come to you... If you have any. See ya."

Then she walked forward without looking back, leaving behind her only a robber kept cursing. But she turned a deaf ear to his insults, just wrapped up her windbreaker and hurried off to her quarters.

  
_'I must hurry, Masaru may have gone home.'_

Outside air began to grow cold, she casually looked at the sky, found that it began to roar.

It's going to rain.

She remembered the storm of a year ago, which had come about the same time.

_'I was impressed by the rain that day, which almost flooded our place...'_

This day last year, she and Masaru angrily managed to drain all the water out of the house. She sighed at the thought. Let's hope the rain doesn't make them feel like this again.

Unconsciously, the familiar house came into view, but her eyes turned to the tree not far from the house.

**It was a dead tree, against the desolate landscape.**

Then she quickly realized that the door was unlocked, and she pushed it in with an angry squeak.

"Masaru, how many times have I told you to lock the door when you get home! "

The little boy with the messy hair looked up, saw his sister staring at him with annoyance, and scratched his head with an embarrassed smile, trying to keep her eyebrows from twisting together.

"Sorry Mitsuko nee-chan, but I found something interesting today, so I didn't notice…"

"Anyway, remember: to lock the door when you get home, Ok?" She interrupted his excuse, but her voice was noticeably calmer.

"OK, OK! "

"So, did you find anything interesting? " She put the bag down on the table and stared into the boy's eyes.

With a mysterious smile, the boy took a book out of his bag and handed it to her. She took it and found it was a fairy tale book, with a title on the cover reminding her that she had read the story.

" **Pinocchio** …"

The little boy caught her muttering and his eyes sparkled.

"Do you know the story? "

"Of course, our brother read it to me a long time ago, before you were born."

"Nee-chan, I've always wondered, our brother is what kind of person? You know, I've only seen him in photo album."

She didn't say anything, looked sad or something.

Instantly the silence in the room, she could feel him looking at her. Now she must have a strange look on face..

"Masaru, are you hungry? I brought back some cans today." Finally, she chose to change the subject.

"Oh, indeed, I only ate a little this morning! So what did you bring back? "

"Vegetables, and fruit... Not just cans, but some bread."

"No meat? "She sensed a hint of disappointment in his tone, a slight curl in the corners of her mouth, she knew how much the boy loved meat.

Though......

"Yeah, I'm sorry, but maybe we can go to the ruins of the city tomorrow and find something to trade from someone else. "

The little boy jumped up happily.

"Yeah! Let's eat!"

Mitsuko looked at the energetic little boy, smiled, opened a can, and in the dim light, the two began a simple dinner.

"Nee-chan, Pinocchio is a what kind of story? "

She looked up into his eyes, again.

"If you want to know, just read it yourself."

"But I wanted to know sooner."

She knew he was wayward with her again——he wanted her to read it to him.

"Well, I'll read you a little bit after dinner. "

The smile on the boy's face became more and more obvious.

_'You're my only family, so I can do anything for you. '_ She said to him in her heart.

In this terrible world, he was the only thing she could feel at ease with.

……

Time is 9 o 'clock in the evening, she closed the book, looked at the sleeping boy, slowly got up and walked out of the room.

Before she left, she looked out of the window, could already see the raindrops.

_'I hope it doesn't rain too hard this time. '_ She prayed in her heart.

* * *

It was a small room with a variety of instruments, and in the middle of the room was a laboratory table. A white-haired old man is holding a young man, a face of the expression of pain.

"Now, my dear boy, listen up, I have something important to enjoin you. "

The young man at the laboratory table made no reply. His brown eyes were fixed on the wall behind the old man——which was also at eye level with his.

 

" **First** , remember not to harm humans, for they are different from machines. "

" **Second** , learn to distinguish right from wrong. You must learn what is right and what is wrong."

" **Third** , and most important, be yourself. Don't be evil, BE YOURSELF."

 

"Yes." The young man with black hair and brown eyes answered the old man's words in a monotonous and brief tone.

The old man slowly stood up and looked at other party's face. He looked at his empty brown eyes. If you looked closer,would find complicated and small mechanical lines in the pupils of those eyes.

"I'm out of time wait until them to start-up...I guess. " The old man said to himself, his words full of sadness.

"Rainstorm is coming, I still remember the day a year ago when you first opened your eyes, I'll never forget the joy of that moment...There's no mirror. You don't even know what you look like——whatever it is...but I can't think of any other way to keep you hidden...I'm sorry…forgive me..."

The young man did not answer , he did not know how to respond to him. He reached out and stroked the metal choker he had just put on the young man. It covers the code on his neck.

"The man is coming soon...I think he'll be moving on to his next plan soon...don't change your exterior in public. I've been hurting them, and I hope I can make it up to them——"

There was a loud bang, he turned sharply, staring in the direction it was coming from.

"Here he comes... Go quickly, leave here, right now!"

The young man looked like a puppet, jumped off the table as if he had been given an order, but stood in front of the old man.

"Don't worry about me! GO! "he shouted, "you've got more important things to do. Now, LEAVE HERE! "

……

He ran out and saw the man he knew standing in front of him.

After all these years, Gil looked crazier than ever, standing next to him was his subordinates——robots once built by another man.

"You're a visionary, Den Komyouji."

The man named Den Komyouji swallowed and stared at the bastard in front of him.

"I already know what you did, ten years ago."

"So what? What do you want to do? Kill me? I advise you not to move about, Den. You know, flesh and blood can't compete with metal——Look, you made them all by yourself, but now they only do what I command them. I know you regard your works as your 'children'. But machines should be used as tools! "

"What are you going to do with me, Gil?" Den ignored his long speech and came straight to the point.

"I will take you and continue to serve me." The sinister smile on Gil's face grew more and more obvious.

"……"

"Even though you knew the truth, so what? You can't escape me... You can only choose between serving me and dying. "

When Den was tied up, the rain came down with thunder, he slowly raised his head, expression like feeling a sense of great relief.

The last hope left safely, under the cover of rainstorm.

His conscience circuitry will protect him, and his emotional programming will allow him to experience more. It's not easy to activate two key systems in one sitting.

 

_'Good luck, Jiro...My dear child…'_

_'I may have put heavy chains on you, but remember, I love you.'_

* * *

 

As the sun rose over the horizon and the dew covered his surroundings, he slowly sat up and looked around him.

Desolation——that was his first impression.

For some reason he held out his hand to touch the surroundings, but quickly drew it back before his eyes.

It was a hand with black gloves.

His hands were wrapped in black cloth.

He felt something he had never felt before, but he didn't know exactly what it was.

He began to think back, to the past, to the first time he had opened his eyes.

The first person he saw was the man who called himself Den Komyouji, and he held himself tightly in his arms.

_"Welcome to the world, Jiro."_ That was the first thing he said to himself.

He didn't know why he held him in his arms, or why he was called "Jiro".

During that time he was in the room ,Den kept perfecting him, sometimes a week goes by in a blink of an eye.

The rest of the time he was sitting in a pile of books looking at different things, including an album of cities or natural environments.

It was completely different from what he saw now.

World civilization has been destroyed——that's what Den told him.

Until one day, he handed him a guitar.

_"Come on, try to play it."_ He seemed to encourage him and put a guitar score in front of him. So he obeyed and began to play. At first, the notes are broken, but soon they flow.

Now he turned his head and looked at the instrument he knew so well on his back.

He got up and walked on, trying to find the view he had seen in the photograph. And soon, a stretch of road that had been in disrepair for years appeared before him, like a child discovering something new, he ran quickly past——

"Ah! " He didn't notice the uneven ground and fell to the ground, but instead of caring, put the hand on his throat.

"my...my voi- is this my voice? "He muttered, looked up slightly, and saw something reflected in the puddle beside him.

Slowly climbed over, he saw his own appearance for the first time.

His black hair was untidy and wayward, wore a pair of goggles, skin seemed fair than Den's, and a pair of different colors of eyes——right is **blue** , left is **red**.

"this is...me? "

Is this what he looks like?

He knelt beside the puddle for a few seconds, then put his head in his hands.

"Who am I? "

'Jiro, This is your name.' He had an answer at once.

"Where am I going? What am I doing?"

He doesn't know.


	3. Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Even in the post-apocalyptic age, innocence is never lacking. 'The Lovers' may be one of them. But she also has a mature side, she knows that can't be soft with a villain, especially when the guy wants to control everyone's mind. The post-apocalyptic law of the survival is something she has always taken to heart."

_She was in the water, unable to breathe, but worse, her neck was now being held tightly by a man._

_Mitsuko kicked her legs in vain, trying to kick him away from her, knowing it was futile, but she did not want to sit still waiting for death._

_Who is he? Why would you do that?_

_She tried to keep her eyes wide open to see who was holding her neck, but unfortunately, when she saw who it was, she preferred not to have done it._

_'Who can help me!?' With this silent cry she suddenly opened her eyes._

**Chapter 02 Nightmare**

* * *

Mitsuko sat on the bed, fingers rubbing her forehead, eyes closed, remembering the strange dream she had just had.

It was probably in the small hours, and the noise outside told her that the rain was still falling.

She did not know whether it was the sound of rain that woke her, or whether it was the nightmare she had just had——she remembered the dream. her dead brother choking her.

"Geez... Why do I have this dream... "

The girl murmured, now the only hope is that the rain outside quickly stop.

* * *

Today is another day. Masaru bites his food, without a word.

"What's the matter with you today? You look worried."Mitsuko saw that something was wrong with the little boy. If it is in normal, he is not so silent now.

"I had a nightmare yesterday." He swallowed his food and answered her question briefly.

Mitsuko frowned, thinking how strange it was that they had both had nightmares the night before.

"It does look like we're siblings——so am I... What did you dream? "

Masaru looked up at his sister.

"I dreamed I was standing in a place full of bodies, covered in blood and smelling disgusting. Then I saw a boy who looked about my age lying on the ground, the back of his head facing me. Somehow, something made me want to know what he looked like. So I carefully turned his face to me, only to find that the he looked exactly like me! And his face and body were full of gnawed marks! "

He took a deep breath and continued.

"You know what scares me the most? That's how real this dream feels to me! And sometimes, I... What can I say? Sometimes I feel like I've lost something, but I can't tell you what it is. "

Mitsuko's body shook slightly, Masaru caught the detail, but took it as a sign that she was frightened.

"So what did you dream about?" Masaru asked, taking another bite out of his hand.

"I dreamed about our eldest brother is put someone else's neck——I am the one that was pinching."

"It was a strange dream! "Masaru said his first feelings, "you told me our eldest brother was gentle. How could he do such a thing?"

"…Yeah, It's not going to happen…hurry to eat, I go with you today ruins collected supplies."

"Aren't you going to work, nee-chan?"

"You should know I'm doing odd jobs for people right now, ever since that happened."

"Ah, that..." Masaru's expression became grave.

Mitsuko's mind went back to what had happened that day, If someone hadn't saved herself life that day...

She shook her head to think no more, got up to change, leaving Masaru behind while he ate.

"By the way, nee-chan, I remember, today is your birthday, right? "

She stopped and turned to look at him.

"I forgot you didn't tell me... Today is my 18th birthday, which means I'm an adult." She said, with a slight smile.

"Shall we make a cake to celebrate today?"

"HMM... You're not suggesting that because you want cake, are you?" The girl looked at her brother with a bright smile on her lips.

It was obvious that she was right. The boy looked embarrassed, as if he wanted an excuse. Mitsuko just laughed helplessly and turned away.

Back in the room, she picked up a black shirt that was lying on a chair. There was a torn red pattern on it, The remaining red rags tell others that the pattern was once a red heart.

And now, like her heart, the pattern was broken.

10 minutes later, as they walked out of the room, she glanced casually at the tree again.

A year ago, the tree died in a thunderstorm, thanks to the lightning of that day.

* * *

_She stood in front of the wasteland, looking at what was happening in front of her._

_The black knight was fighting something she did not know how to describe._

_She had seen the knight many times before——in her dreams._

_So she knew who the knight represented in the real world._

_She wanted to say his name——even though it wasn't his real name._

_But she couldn't._

……

Opening her eyes, she leaned out of the bedclothes and looked around.

The next she did was to look at the calendar she had made——The month was drawing to a close, but her plans had made no progress.

It had been a long time since she had left the place. She left the bed impatiently, went to the old mirror and combed her hair, then looked at the face on the mirror——the face with the bright black eyes, and the chestnut hair that had been casually pulled into a ponytail, decorated with pink ribbons.

Black clothes made her look like a bad girl, especially the jacket with the skull on the back outside.

But perhaps she was a far cry from a true bad girl.

"I have been away from Jesus Town for a long time, but until now I don't have any harvest."

She looked at herself in the mirror and murmured.

"I snuck into the ' **Only Working Subway** ', looked for him in different places. Sometimes I hear clues that might be about him, but in the end, the trail runs out all. "

She sighed and went on talking to herself in the mirror.

"The outside world was a lot more chaotic than it was there, and I moved cautiously every time. Finally I found out that the ruins are the safest, so I live here now——"

Protests from the stomach to make her stop the speech, and put both hands on the stomach. Only then did she remember that she had eaten nothing since last night.

"I hate hunger. "Her teeth bared, get up and leave the "home" in search of food.

And then, very quickly, she was attracted to a different sound——the sound of a guitar.

Her hunger was temporarily suppressed by curiosity, carefully followed the direction of the voice. A young figure caught her eye. It looked like a man. It was from him that the sound of the guitar came.

It had been a long time since she had heard anyone play an instrument——music was also taboo in Jesus Town, the exclusive possession of the ruler and his lackey.

And after she left here, she didn't remember hearing anyone else play a musical instrument——maybe she just didn't notice.

For a moment she was immersed in music, forgetting her worries and hunger.

But happy time is always short, soon the song was over, when she could not help applauding the performer.

The performer turned, and she finally saw his face.

Oh, he looks about her age.

Huh? Wait a minute... Why did she seem to have seen his face somewhere?

"Hey, your playing surprised me. I haven't heard anyone play an instrument for a long time." But her words came out of her mouth before her brain had finished thinking.

There was a hint of confusion on the other's face, but then a shy smile.

"... Thank you..." His voice was soft and gentle, and there was a touch of shyness in it.

He looked different from the people she had met.

"Hey, my name is Kaoru. What's your name?" Somehow, she volunteered her name.

Just like that one.

"Jiro, I think."

"Ji... ro? Well, good name." Not far from him she sat down and looked carefully into his face.

  
She remembered well that there was another man with that face... No, that man isn't human, exactly.

Perhaps staring at him all the time, the boy, who looked his age, turned to her.

The boy's eyes met hers. The girl felt a look of surprise on her face.

Those are not human eyes.

'He was looking at me... What is he? Human beings, or...'

But now, he reminded her of someone else.

"Hey, that way you look at me reminds me of someone. He liked to look at me without saying a word, but his clothes were much more shabby than yours." She ventured.

The young man named Jiro tilted his head, as if to ask who she was talking about.

"Well, He is……different from……normal people. At first he had no memory, even forgot his own name, and couldn't speak. He spent a lot of time with me, and sometimes I wondered if his age didn't match his appearance——because he sometimes acted like a curious child, and he seemed to like my bell, like a cute kitty."

"So, he finally recovered memory? "Jiro asked her softly.

"Well, yes," she nodded, "he has recovered memory, and so has his ability to speak. Then he told me, his name came back to him, and mission."

"What's his name?" The boy asked.

"He told me that his real name was so common that it didn't make any sense to say it, and then he left... That's why I'm here now."

"You're looking for him?"

The girl had a nervous look on her face and nodded her head quickly.

"Y-yes! I had an important thing to do with him! Nothing personal! " She knew she was only covering it up, and her movements and expressions might have betrayed her.

She fancy him, even though he's not human.

But Jiro seemed to take her at her word.

"So, Kaoru-san, can you tell me what he looks like? If you like, I can try to find him for you. After all, you said you had something important to him, right? "

Kaoru looked up and saw the other person smiling at her.

She leaned close to him, looking into his face and his strange eyes.

She could see no whiff of intrigue.

"Well, it's very kind of you, "she finally smiled, "as I said, he didn't tell me his name, but during his amnesia, I called him ' **Ryo** '. His clothes were all black, The left sleeve was half missing, and the rags were at the joints of the arm. neck was tied in a yellow scarf with burn marks. His hair is black, well, just like yours. But I think his most striking feature is the right side of his face, where there is an inverse cross scar. "

The boy nodded.

"I see. I'll keep my eyes open."

"Thank you," the girl took a deep breath and changed the subject. "...Hey, do you have faith in your fist?"

He had a puzzled look on his face, and it was obvious that he did not know why she had asked.

The girl was surprised, but she tried to look calm.

"Your clothes look wet, but if you look carefully, there's no sign of damage...Have you been caught in the rain? "

She got a nod in response from another.

"Why go out in the storm? You'll catch a cold, or worse, a fever." She felt uneasy. She did not know what would happen to others, but at least she was carefully protecting her body from any harm.

Any disease in this land could kill you.

Except Jesus Town. That place had enough resources to make people's lives better, but she hated it. Because the "king" was a dictator, everyone must live according to "king" liking, no freedom at all.

Freedom of the mind is far more important than freedom of the body, she thinks.

He looked down at his clothes now, as if he had not noticed them before she reminded him.

"My clothes are worn out, and half of it is because I made them this way on purpose, because it makes me safer, and people carry weapons. After all, some guys choose to rob or steal to keep themselves alive."

She said, looking at the reaction and noticing that he just found out about it——which made her even more uneasiness.

She knew the urban legend...

"You know, your eyes are different with others…It's possible that humans do have a pair of differ-colored eyes, due to heterochromia iridosus. But unless you're an albino, you can't have red eyes, what's more, you only left eye is red."

He was evidently at a loss for an answer. This made Kaoru start to feel a little scared.

"Well, I'm sure you're wearing contact lenses, though! That's why your eyes are so strange! " She hastened to clear the air——though more to give herself a reasonable explanation.

"I..." The other was about to say something, but Kaoru's stomach was ringing just in time to interrupt.

"Oh, I'm so hungry. I must go and get some food. I live in this ruin now. If you find him, will you let me know?"

"OK... "

"Then, remember your promise... Bye bye ~"

Then she jumped down the steps and started for the more level ground.  
She thought of the young man all the way.

She remembered it very well, that face...

"Mikhail's face was exactly like his, except for the color of his eyes...and hair."

She thought again of the urban legend she had known since she had left Jesus Town——that after the destruction of the world there had appeared on the earth something that looked exactly like a human or an animal, but was not biological. People call them robots, or androids.

Ha, it's like something out of some manga or Anime, isn't it?

However, for a girl who has lived in Jesus Town for a long time, this is not an urban legend, because there is a android in that place, his name is Mikhail, is the tyrant "king" Gurjev's biggest pickthank.

  
Then another android arrived in Jesus Town from the outside——and when she saw him at first, he was leaning against a corner, all wound, and slowly changing back to his human appearance, the image of a dark-haired man, his eyes vacant and empty.

If look closely, would find his pupils are full of tiny mechanical lines.

Yes, just like Jiro.

Although before the end of the world, there were mechanical organs, and the rich people would replace the organs that couldn't be cured with machines, including the eyes, the tiny lines of the mechanical eyes, but...

He was like a newborn who knew nothing, not even the rules of survival that almost everyone knew in this age.

_'Frist, your clothes should not be too clean and neat, unless you can deal with the bandits who may appear. Second, always go out with a weapon unless you are confident in your fist.'_ She recited the two rules in her mind, again.

Then there is only one reasonable inference——that the young man, Jiro, is an non-human.

Although at first he does not look very different from human beings, but if look closely, can find the difference.

  
The most obvious, should is the eyes.

What's more, when Ryo pulled off Mikhail's mask, it was exactly like Jiro's——and she remember clearly.

"Why are their faces the same? Jiro is Mikhail... ? After all, it had been a long time since Ryo had destroyed Mikhail, and it wasn't impossible to get him fixed... Did someone made Jiro out of the body of Mikhail?"

If so, what is he doing here now? If not, who is he?

She don't understand, mind was in a muddle.

"Ryo…Where are you? Of all the people I know, you may be the only one who can defeat a new tyrant...and of all the people I know, you're probably the only one still alive...even though I know you're not human, I still want to treat you like one."

Yes, she had formed a rebel group with several humans, hiding in the shadow corners of Jesus Town, all of whom had gathered together in dissatisfied at Gurjev's asshard rule.

However, her companions have their own agendas, perhaps only she had no other ambition than to get Gurjev "step down".

She doesn't know what she's going to do after Gurjev "steps down", but her companions have planned their imagined future, but they're just like Gurjev——they're all about being that ruler.

So, she's still lonely. But she could not leave them, for they were the only ones in Jesus Town willing to overthrow the lunatic.

But after the overthrow, what did she want to do? She had no idea.

One day, the sky appeared meteor, legend to the meteor wish words, the wish will come true.

The average person scoffs at things that have no scientific basis, but she believes them. Because she firmly believes that science is not omnipotent.

She would never forget the events of that day. If Ryo hadn't saved her in time, she'd be a corpse like her companions——

A shot rang out, pulling her back to reality from her thoughts. She quickly hid in the shadows and followed the direction looking of the voice. She saw a girl with short black hair looking at the man kneeling in front of her with a cold face. Next to the girl, a boy who looked much younger was shivering beside her.

The man's hand was bleeding and the girl was holding a gun with a smoking muzzle.

"How many times have I said, don't, mess, with, me. I won't hand over what I collect to you bandits. You can only wait for someone to collect the supplies then grab them? !"

The man looked up. Needless to say, he must be looking angry now.

"We're working too! You little bitch! You hurt my partner yesterday, didn't you? ! If you give me all that is in your hand, I will spare your life! "

Short hair girl's face more disdainful.

"Are you still trying to rob me now? You want a taste of my bullets again? Or my knife? You should know that a minor injury could kill you. What if I put another bullet in your leg? "

  
The man got up slowly and began to step back.

"Just wait and see bitchy! I'm not going to stop! You'll pay for your arrogance! "

Then, clutching his injured hand, he quickly fled the scene.

After seeing the robber run away awkwardly, the girl's tight face relaxed, showing exhaustion, and then looked down at the little boy next to her.

"Are you ok, Masaru? Did I scare you just now? "

The little boy shook his head and forced a smile on his face.

"No... I know you're stronger than me, and I know you want to make life easier for us, so you won't go easy on the robbers."

The girl crouched down and held the boy in her arms.

"We will try to live, together, until natural death or the end of the world comes."

  
"Right…"

Kaoru watched them from the shadows. Whatever their relationship, at least they had someone to depend on.

It made her admiration.

After all, the world is already bad, but if there is one person who will accompany you, then you are really lucky. And she also wants to have such a existence, this is her greatest desire.

Whether it's a human, a machine, or something else.

_'No matter who they are, I really envy them.'_

She looked at them and smiled a little, but then it disappeared with what happened next.

A huge black figure appeared in their sight, causing the little boy to throw himself into the girl's arms in panic.

"What is that? !"

Instead of answering the question, Mitsuko stared straight at the object in front of her.

"So now, is urban legend finally here? Or...ridiculous gossip? "

After the girl said this, Kaoru finally saw what it looked like.

It's a machine. It's made of metal. It's the appearance of an animal.

"Like 'human' is not human, like 'animal' is not animal, like 'insect' is not insect…"She backed away slowly, watching the machine and softly repeat the urban legend.

And the machine spoke to the three of them in a hard, cold tone.

"Gil-sama gave orders... _'Whoever sees this, kill it'_."

Hiding in the dark, Kaoru swallowed. Now she just wanted to run away, but unfortunately, the monster found her now.

"Those who see must be removed."

_'It didn't mean me, did it? '_ Kaoru looked around and saw that there was nothing but herself, the two men who depended on each other, and the mechanical monster.

That's right. This mechanical monster is going to kill the three of them, just because they saw it.

But why is it here? What is it going to do

——

Now is not the time to think about these questions!

_'Am I going to die here?'_ Kaoru put her hands over her mouth and the fear of death swept over her as the two found her.

If the other is a human, she may be able to pray that it will let her go, but unfortunately it was a machine that was going to kill her. It's a machine that only does what its master tells it to do.

It's totally different from Ryo.

Her legs gave way, began to miss her parents, who had long since died——though she could not remember what they looked like.

But she kept in mind what her mother had said before she died.

 

_**"People meet in another world after they die. "** _

 

She saw that the monster was getting closer and closer to her. She closed her eyes in fear and waited for the embrace of death——

The shot sounded, and she opened her eyes, trembling, to see the young man standing on a high place, with the muzzle of a gun on the top of his guitar.

His guitar had a gun barrel hidden inside.

The monster turned slowly and looked at the intruder with artificial eyes.

And the young man's expression is very cold, a pair of different color eyes staring at it.

" **Kikaider**..." The mechanical assassin, looking at the young man, uttered such a name, as if it were a code word, and then said, in it monotonous voice, "…Professor Gil also gave orders to destroy you…You're the number one target...That's why Professor sent me here... "

Without saying a word, the young man standing on the high ground slowly put the guitar back on his back, and then looked at other closer and closer to him without any expression, just like a delicate puppet.

Just as their bodies were about to bump, the young man named Jiro jumped to his feet and dodged the impact of the other. Unfortunately, he suffered some injuries——as he landed, others saw the sleeve of his left arm cut and the red liquid ran down it.

Hiding in the dark Kaoru froze for a moment——Jiro is human?

But then there was another memory in her mind that made her refuted the idea.

When she first meets Ryo, he reverting back to him human form and all red——not blood, is something else.

She had sniffed the liquid, secretly, which smelled of machine oil, but not like regular machine oil——seemed to be mixed with something else.

If it wasn't so dangerous and someone possible else thought she was a freak, she might have chosen to smell the red liquid flowing from Jiro's arm to make sure it was blood or not——

Wait, she doesn't have to do this because——

If it's a human, it's almost impossible to avoid a machine that close to him, right?

Then what happened next proved that this boy, Jiro, is not human.

 

  
**“SWITCH——ON! ”**

 

Then she saw a change in Jiro's body. His human from was disappearing, it was soon replaced by a robot——the body seemed to be torn in half, blue on the right and red on the left. It's like a mannequin.

She stared at the way he had changed, again she was uneasy.

Wait, this is...? !

She sneakily glance to that pair of siblings, discover the expression of the boy is subtle, became bright contrast with the expression of that girl again.

"Nee-chan, what is that? !" The boy's voice trembled.

But apparently, the girl ignored boy's question.

Her eyes were fixed on the half-red, half-blue robot, and——

"He had my dead brother's youthful appearance."

"And **that guitar** , I remember exactly."

Short hair girl with muttered to herself.

……

One day, a long time later, Kaoru thought about it again.

Ryo, Mikhail, Jiro, Gurjev, Gil... and others.

Now think about it, perhaps she had been involved in the matter when she dreamed of the black knight that day.


	4. Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "She wondered why he had created a monster so like her brother."
> 
> "But I think Mr.'The Fool' will protect Ms.'Magician', right? "
> 
> "Yes, after all, she and her little brother 'The Sun' are 'The Emperor''s children."

 

The robot, half-red, half-blue, gathers electrical current into arms. And attacks his enemie.

Then the enemy stopped, its body began to shake——

There was a loud bang, the mechanical assassin were reduced to scrap metal, scattered all over the place.

Masaru gasped. He swore he'd never forget it.

And Kaoru stared at it all.

" **Post-Apocalyptic Humanoid……** "

She murmured to herself.

**Chapter 03 Encounter**

* * *

_'I survived another day.'_ This is the first thought that comes to Hanpei Hattori's mind when he wakes up.

He yawned, wiped glasses on shirt sleeve, then opened his eyes, pulled on the overcoat that covered him as a quilt, and turned his gaze to the compartment called the kitchen.

At this time there is a woman in the kitchen busy doing breakfast, she is his assistant, Etsuko Sarutobi.

"Morning, boss." The female assistant knew he was awake, said hello without looking back.

The man smiled, he knew it was the tacit understanding they had developed over the years.

Sometimes, they don't need extra action.

"Good morning, Etsuko." Hanpei smiled and picked up a portable mouthwash to clean his mouth.

"Don't swallow it. It can only be used as drinking water if there is a serious shortage of water." Etsuko suddenly reminded him, her head still not turned.

"I understand." The man smiled. She really cared about himself.

After a few minutes, the woman finally turned around, took the two trays, stepped across the countless sundries to the table, and placed the food on them.

"Um......Etsuko, we're out of coffee? "Hanpei asked cautiously, looking at the eggs on the table.

"You had your last cup yesterday, boss—If that's really coffee."Etsuko put her arms around her chest and told him the hard truth——the hard truth for him.

"OH NO! Apocalypse coming—oof! " Hanpei's wail was interrupted by his assistant's hand.

"Apocalypse has already come once, boss. And you know what I think? Instead of satisfying your caffeine needs, let's make something practical to fill our stomachs."

The man helplessly sighed tone, both hands wu head, a face unhappy expression.

"We can go fishing, we can go hunting, and if we want something else, we can trade our prize for someone else, maybe coffee." Etsuko got up and went to a box. She took out a shotgun and examined the remaining bullets.

"——What's more, if you don't cheer up, how do you go to write your fiction? Although I don't know if this is how many times you tried."

"Fiction…?" Hanpei sighed helplessly, "…In addition to fishing and hunting, we help others find lost things and people, and even…grain reserves."

"And the fiction is just a kind of entertainment that makes human beings live in this world not so boring——even in the past. However, boss, your fiction seems to be read by no one except me."

Hanpei covered his head in frustration.

"... You're right Etsuko, nobody reads what I write, except you, you're my only reader. But I do like to write them. I remember when we used to read detective stories together, we all wanted to be detectives then, but now..."

"Well, it's also a detective's job to help people find lost items." He saw her standing before him and shrugging her shoulders.

"Alas, I remember the day the world came to an end when we decided to be detectives, and the terrible things that happened after that. And now here we are, surviving... "He said, turning his eyes to his gloved right hand.

"It's like what we do when we help people find things——if we didn't have such a low success rate and not many people came to us, we could make a living doing it."

Hanpei felt even more depressed.

"It's really too bad... No one asked us for help, no one read my novels, there were robbers, thieves, and supposedly cults all around. Alas, who destroyed the world to make it this way? "

"Don't be upset, boss, Just because we're having a bad time now doesn't mean we'll have a bad time in the future! Maybe your next novel will have other readers? Don't give up hope!" Her encouragement came suddenly into his ear.

Hanpei was silent for a few seconds, looking up at his assistant, who always cared for him when he was down, and vice versa.

They are interdependent individuals.

The man smiled again.

"you're right, Etsuko. I'm thinking about the plot of my new fiction, "Hanpei said, pulling out his notebook and thumbing through it with a smile, "this is the material for the new fiction, and the main target we're looking for in this case has been missing for a long time."

Etsuko looked at the picture in her notebook and the name under it.

"Den Komyouji..." She pronounced the name.

"Yes, Den Komyouji, he was one of the best robotics geniuses before the world was destroyed," Hanpei rapped on the photo with his pen, "Soon after he disappeared, the world became this way. As for Den, no one knew where he had gone."

"Did he bring about the destruction of the world? " Etsuko suddenly joked.

"How can that be!"

"So, boss, have you found any new leads?"

  
Hanpei shook his head.

"Not yet, but I hope it won't be long... "

"Well, before that --" said Etsuko, taking out the fishing rod and putting it in front of Hanpei.

"Shall we go and get some food first? " She has a nice smile.

* * *

The rhinoceros become scrap metal, can't see the appearance of the original.

No matter how like biological appearance, but not inside——Normally, organisms don't have as much wire and metal in them.

Mitsuko just glanced impassive at the scrap metal in the ground, then turned her head to the other robot, watching him slowly change back into human form.

Yes, it is "his" appearance.

He is indeed the work of "he". She walked slowly towards him.

"So, are you the creation of that man?" Mitsuko came straight to the point, showed no mercy. Her eyes were on his left arm. He was hurt, the gash under the sleeve of his shirt showing up, and particularly conspicuous.

He looked up at her blankly, as if he did not understand her words.

With a self-deprecating shrug, Mitsuko rephrased the problem.

"Have you ever heard of the surnames 'Komyouji'?"

This time, he nodded.

_'Just like I thought, it's not normally possible for a human to have red eyes, let alone only one eye is like this. '_

Mitsuko began to put her brain to work, trying to piece together an answer.

_'About 10 years ago, 'he' disappeared, and shortly after that, 'Apocalypse' came to the world, and then--'_

She slowly turned and looked at the robot again...or android.

"So, what's your name? You're not going to be called 'android' all the time, En? "

"He called me...Jiro. " It was the first thing he had ever said to her.

"'Jiro'…Hum, his naming skills are terrible. Have you been abandoned, too? Just like me...?" She laughed so sadly, though her voice was full of sarcasm.

"He asked me to 'leave' before." Android answers truthfully.

"Well, at least he reminded you before he left, "the girl rolled her eyes and continued, "So now, what are you going to do? Your arm was hurt, your sleeve was torn, and now you're really standing here, in this post-apocalyptic land. "

Jiro did not understand her.

"I'm Mitsuko, Mitsuko Komyouji. And the little boy's name…Masaru, he's my brother."As she spoke, while gently patting still shivering little boy in the back.

She knew he would come home with her because the surname was special to him. But she had brought him back not out of kindness, but for some purpose. She looked down at the bag in her hand. It contained what they had collected today. On the top, one containing the photo in frame is particularly conspicuous, it is very clean, like is who had just been wipe tried. When Mitsuko returned to her former home today, she found the photo frame on table, which did not fit in with the dusty surroundings.

She remember clearly, she had never before seen in the house this photo frame. Nine times out of ten it was left by the man.

Every birthday, there are always some new things in the old house. Sometimes it is clothes, sometimes it is jewelry, sometimes it is a book.

But the man, she'll never find him.

She did not take them away, but put them all in the suitcase of the wardrobe, hoping to return them to him one day.

"If you really want to celebrate my birthday, show up and come to me. You even can't do this? "

But why, this year, is a photo frame with a family portrait? When she reached for it, she saw something else hidden inside the frame. When she held for it, she found something else hidden inside the frame.

Sure enough, the frame was just a cover, and the focus was on what was inside. Although she doesn't want to take away anything left by the man, her intuition tells her that this "gift" is more than just a gift, there are more important.

So she decided to do something she had never done before—take home the gift the man had given her.

So now, with her bag in one hand and Jiro's finger in the other, her brother followed her closely, the three walked toward the place called home.

Mitsuko thought back to the fight had just had. A girl she didn't know was involved.

Maybe the girl will be hunted down by the mysterious group that the robot belongs to.

However, this has nothing to do with her. She just needs to protect Masaru.

* * *

Kaoru kept everything in mind.

The scrap metal on the ground was telling her that what had just happened was not an illusion. Not only that, she saw the red fluid running down Jiro's arm and the wires sticking out of the wound.

Walking slowly to the red liquid on the ground, she dipped her finger tip in a bit of the red weird thing, slowly put it in front of her nose—

Motor oil, mixed with something else. It's the exact same fluid that came out of Ryo's body.

Yes, she was absolutely sure that Jiro was not human.

But why does he look so much like Mikhail? Did someone, as she thought, "resurrect" Mikhail and "reincarnate" him?

She began to think, to think about the relationship between these people.

'Maybe...maybe is not the way, maybe Komyouji...he built two identical androids and Gurjev stole one of them...' She began to think another way. Obviously, the logic of this idea is much more reasonable than her previous.

She turned her eyes again to the pile of scrap metal and thought about what the girl named Mitsuko had said to herself.

 

_"Forget what you saw."_

 

How could she forget? !

Besides, she had seen something like it before. Not only that, she knew the urban legends of the land.

" **Post-apocalyptic humanoid.** "

" **Like 'human' is not human, like 'animal' is not animal, like 'insect' is not insect.** "

At one point she thought it was just a rumour ,robots existed only in Jesus Town, but the truth told her it was true.

She came to a conclusion: Even in the outside world, dangers lurk too. This danger is quite different from the danger in Jesus Town

"Ryo, where are you? "Kaoru felt very tired and looked up at the sky, muttering to herself. She remembered when he had said goodbye to her and she had given him her bell. He was obviously overwhelmed, but in the end he accepted her parting gift.

"…I'll keep it safe…See ya."

She had not expected him to accept her gift——If he was a kitten during his amnesia, taciturn and curious ;then restore memory, he is a Wolf, bloodthirsty and cruel.

At that time, she thought, this will do, bury that time in her heart, and then free to live her own life. But it was clear that heaven had not given her a chance to settle down.

Once again, Jesus Town is in deep crisis.

She remembered that she had seen the face of the new tyrant once before in a dream——a strange, gloomy face, with evil written on it. More important, the new tyrant is even more brutal than his predecessor.

That's why she's looking for him.

In short, she packed up her things and almost ran out of Jesus Town alone——she alerted the other residents, but no one believed her.

Yes, she smiled sadly. Their disbelief was the normal response.

She was a lonely person, that's one of the reasons, she longed for company——whether it was someone with similar abilities or someone who could understand her.

"Kaoru?" A familiar voice brought her back to reality. She turned and saw two people she knew.

"Mr. Hattori and…Ms. Sarutobi…? "

Anyway, meeting old acquaintances was a glad thing, so the three of them sat down on the relatively flat ground and began to talk to each other.

"You suddenly disappeared, I thought you have..."

"Kaoru, remember, Etsuko and I are detectives, and when I saw Gurjev become ruler, my instinct told me that he would become a tyrant. In order to escape his control that one day would come, that day Etsuko and I would secretly dig tunnels, a moment without stop. But unfortunately, in the completion of that day of, he found us, but we finally go to great lengths to escape from that place—though, a little bit of cost... We wanted to ask the others to leave with us, but there was no time, so sorry..." With that, Hanpei took off his hat.

"No biggie, maybe it's just fate." Said Kaoru, smiling.

"Fate? "Etsuko some surprised looking at her, "You use tarot divination out of what? "

"No, I haven't divination... Shortly after you left, a……people, appeared in Jesus Town. He killed the Gurjev, and then left."

"I see…"

"But then, after a while, a new ruler appeared, and he was even more violent than his predecessor, so I escaped. "

"…Jesus Town full of calamitous. Everyone wants to be Jesus in this place. "Hanpei sighed and lit the fire, put the fish on the fire and cooked it, "Do you want some? "

"Of course! I haven't eaten for a long time! " Kaoru immediately remembered that her stomach had been protesting and quickly agreed.

……

"So, you after fleeing the Jesus Town what do for a living? " Kaoru asked them as she swallowed her last bite of fish.

"As you can see, hunting and fishing." Etsuko got the jump on Hanpei to answer the girl's question.

"…Helping others find lost items. " Hanpei added cautiously.

"Well, that's a sideline." Etsuko said, pushing her glasses.

"Please don't, Etsuko, Don't say that in front of the child, give the elder a little face..."

"Kaoru-chan isn't a child any more, right? " said Etsuko, turning her head to the girl and waiting for an answer.

"Well... In fact, I'm going to be 18 for a while, and I remember that very well because I made a calendar, every year." said the girl, with a slight smile.

"You're about to become an adult, Kaoru-chan are you still alone? "

"Well...... Maybe...... 'Kaoru looked down with a depressed expression.' all my companions are dead, only I was saved by that man... "

"You're in luck. "

"Maybe...I remember feeling like…I was going to die. But when I woke up, the man had saved my life. He had stopped the bleeding."Kaoru said, feeling her face begin to heat, and could not help holding her cheek in her hands, which the other two noticed.

"You **adore** him? " Etsuko asked jokingly.

" **N-NO!** " the girl stammered, "…Hey, have you heard that be widely known urban legend? " She quickly changed the subject.

"Post-Apocalyptic Humanoid?' HA, for vagrants fleeing the Jesus Town, this not urban legend at all. " Hanpei Hattori knew Kaoru didn't want to continue the subject just now, so he followed her question.

"Oh, yes…but I just…"Kaoru tried to talk about what she had just gone through, but stopped on the tip of her tongue—She didn't think she should have told them what seemed so weird!

But it was too late.

"Oh? What just happened? " Hanpei sees that she has something to say—the detective's instinct tells him it's important.

"I…" Kaoru kept her mouth open, not knowing what to say.

"... HMM...Kaoru-chan, would you like to read the novel written by my boss? He needs new readers." Etsuko saw that the atmosphere was beginning to stiffen and do the peacemaking——she chose to change the subject again.

"...Has Mr. Hattori written another novel? " Kaoru raised her eyebrows and gave Etsuko a grateful look.

"Yes, my boss is looking for material for a new novel recently. We have a commissioned disappearance case. He said he could take inspiration from it."

"So what do you want to write this time?" Kaoru asked the man, who was several years older than she.

"HMM... Detective stories, after all, it's a missing persons case. That's the first thing that came to my mind."

"Who are you looking for? "

"Well... We're looking for someone who was famous before the world was destroyed. "

"Eh? Is it a star? "

"... He's a brilliant doctor of science. "

"He studies robotics? "

"Yes, at least that's what the information I have now tells me... How do you guess he is the study of robots? "

"...Well... Haha, speaking of science I thought of this at the beginning! "

"Can understand...I remember the days before the end of the world, there were rumors that the government was secretly working on AI...maybe he was one of the participants."

"But now AI really exists in the world... "said Kaoru, turning her eyes to the pile of scrap metal in the distance.

_'What just happened was not an illusion. '_

"Kaoru... Can you tell me what you just wanted to say?" Hanpei suddenly turned back to the subject and looked at the girl through his dark eyes.

"Boss…" Etsuko wanted to say something, but was put out by Hanpei to stop.

Kaoru looked at him timidly and saw that his expression was very firm.

"I...Okay...Yes, I was thinking about telling someone about it, too, because I was wondering if I was under too much pressure to hallucinate..."

Kaoru took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, and began to tell them what had happened to her.

But she was careful not to say that Jiro was not a human.

"...So that's it."

"Kaoru, you said you heard that girl call herself Mitsuko Komyouji? " Hanpei pushed glasses, his face more serious than ever.

"Yes, I remember clearly. "

"HMM..."Hattori put his arms around his chest, "Indeed, it occurred to me that Komyouji did have a daughter before he disappeared...If that girl is indeed Komyouji, then she is in all probability the man's daughter."

"What do you want, boss?" Etsuko looked up at Hattori as he stood up and saw a sly smile on his face.

"Maybe we can cooperation with that girl. Information displayed, Den Komyouji has been missing for ten years, and no children will not miss their parents! "

The smile on his face became more and more obvious, glad for the new progress of the case.

_'Komyouji…'_ Kaoru, on the other hand, lowered her head woebegone, thinking of what she had seen.

Ryo and his mission—why did Ryo recall all when he saw Mikhail's human from face?

And Mikhail, did Komyouji built him too? Why does jiro look exactly like Mikhail?

What's their relationship to Komyouji?

Her instinct was telling her that she was involved in something serious.

This is not what she expected.

* * *

If it was normal, Masaru would be eager to check what they had brought back today.

But today he did not do so—because this day he and his sister picked up a android back.

Although she had told him that their father specialized in robots, he was not impressed. After all, he had not seen him since he could remember.

But he was intrigued by this human-like appearance, so now he was staring at the man with the guitar, want to look at him with what's the difference between human beings.

In any case, the color of those eyes is very strange, human eyes Impossible be red.

Perhaps sensing that someone was looking at him all the time, he turned his head and looked at the little boy, face to face. Until Mitsuko came in, her face sombre, with an album in her hand.

"I checked again, no mistake, it seems that you are really the masterpiece of he." Mitsuko opened the album and placed it in front of Jiro.

One of them was apparently in existence for some time, and that photo showed only one person.

"It's from a long time ago, when he was just coming of age." Mitsuko took a sip of water and looked up to see the android's reaction.

He just stared at the picture, callous, without saying anything.

Mitsuko snorted and took another sip of water.

"I don't know why he would design you to look like my brother when he was younger. He was in his 20s when the accident happened. "She stared at the picture, too, muttering.

The man in the photo is young and looks exactly like Jiro—except for the color of his eyes, and hair style.

Masaru's eyes widened, shifting back and forth between the photo and Jiro.

"Masaru, go back your room."Mitsuko suddenly gave the order.

"But…"Masaru obviously didn't want to, he wanted to see more of the strange guest, but his sister soon interrupted him.

"NOW."Her voice was muted but might.

Little boy gave a depressed look, then left his seat and then left his seat and the room. She was the only person left in the room, and the machine with the human appearance. Now she would speak to him alone.

"Since you're here, that means he is still alive...so he didn't tell you where he was going, right?" Mitsuko sat down and looked straight at him.

She got a nod in response.

"Well, it looks like he's missing, again," Mitsuko looked up, voice began to shake, "I was under the impression I'd be able to meet him face to face this time…I wanted to talk to him..."

She suddenly lost control of her emotions, Jiro saw her body shaking, watching her hands clenched, the emotion on her face that he did not know how to describe.

But he thinks she is sad now.

"Mitsuko-san……Are you all rig——"

" **I'M FINE!** " the girl quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, not wanting him to see them, "You should worry about yourself first! Your arm wound began to heal, this is not a human can do it! "

She remembered very well that the cut on Jiro's arm had not been so shallow. Obviously, although the speed is slow, but he can repair itself.

_'He seems to consider the thorough. '_

Mitsuko opened the back of the frame and—

Sure enough, she pulled out something unusual.

A USB disk, this year's birthday gift, is this.

No, her intuition had warned her before that this year wasn't just a "birthday present".

'I think, he has something to tell me, I hope it's not something I hate.'thought Mitsuko, turning to the window.

It's cloudy now, the sun can't shine on the earth. She had a sudden presentiment that something was about to happen.

And this event will make her say goodbye to this strange daily living.

Once again, she will look to the android.

"Now you came to our side, that means he's probably in trouble. Maybe we need to be together for a while."Her tone is very cold.

"I needed a computer that could run, and I remember there was one in that house..."She closed her eyes to recall, muttered, then she opened her eyes and looked straight at Jiro.

"Jiro, right? Come with me to the old house later."

"Why…? "

Mitsuko sighed and handed him the usb stick.

"U disk, have important clues, he left behind. "

"I think it might be something about his whereabouts, so I needed a medium that could read that data, a computer. There certainly be something about you. As a key, you must come with me. "

She said, face gloomy again.

"... I'll have a serious talk with him, one day." she repeated.

Jiro couldn't understand why she reacted this way.

Jiro doesn't understand **yet**.

Until then, he finally knew what was going on.

It was a girl's love-hate with her parents.

It is because she loves so much that she hates so much.

* * *

 

 


	5. Journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "All in all, 'Magician' hates 'The Fool' very much. "
> 
> "Ohhhhh…poor 'The Fool'…"
> 
> "'The Fool''s unhappy life had just begun, and I thought he should be careful. 'Death' was watching him in the dark."  
> "Also, postman 'The Tower' brings a letter from 'The Hierophant'."

The sun is about to set, golden sunlight scattered in the ruins, unexpectedly give a different kind of warmth. a man came out of the ruins of a library, holding a book in his right hand.

The man, who appeared to be in his late 20s, was dressed in somewhat shabby black clothes, with belts wrapped around his waist, legs, arms and chest. Even though he wore dark glasses, he could not completely hide his scarlet eyes.

On the front cover of the book was "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

For a long time he wandered about the desolate world, only to find the one, but there was no clue.

_("I think you're fierce, but you're not good at finding people, just like a headless fly.")_

He covered his head in exasperation, trying to silence the disagreeable sound, but in vain.

"Shut up. "He gave a cold warning to the voice.

_("So, what do you want to do Mr. Destroyer? "_  )The voice asked in a tone he hated, which made him more irritated.

"I said I would do what I wanted to do in my own way. Shut up." He warned the voice coldly again.

_("Sure enough, this is the real you, huh? That in Jesus Town uncommunicative, always staring at the little girl's bell is not the real you. Oh, not only that, you touched the little girl's cheek, didn't you—")_

There was the sound of the bullet being loaded, and the next moment the man was holding the gun to his head.

He'd had enough.

"You know what I'm doing, right, 'Hyde'? I advise you shut up for the next few hours, or I will send you right back to the arms of death. "

_("I bet you wouldn't dare. Have you forgotten what I said to you—")_

A shot rang out across the sky. The gun was pointing at the sky, smoking.

"That was a warning. For the last time—SHUT UP! "

This time, no response.

**Chapter 04 Journey**

* * *

Instead of going back to his room, Masaru listened outside.

Sure enough, Mitsuko began to cry.

Then she'll come out as if nothing happened.

Many a time he had seen her do it, and he had felt sorry for it. Many a time he had tried to comfort her, but when he tried to put his hand on her shoulder he had drawn back.

Because he did not know how to comfort her in this matter.

When the door opened, he looked up and saw Mitsuko with the bag in front of him.

"Mitsu—"

"Today is my birthday. I'm going to bake a cake for us." She smiled softly.

Not unexpectedly, she always carries everything on her own.

"Okey! " So he tried to smile, too, acted like a child who knew nothing.

When she had gone to the kitchen, he ran into the living room and saw the young man in blue still sitting there, looking carefully through the album.

At that moment Masaru almost forgot that the man in front of him was not human.

"Eh…Well, hello, "Masaru walked gingerly toward him, "I haven't spoken to you yet, right? I'm Masaru—Masaru Komyouji. You are…Jiro? "

He nodded.

"En…see Jiro, my sister may have said something bad to you, but please don't mind okey? She is always more or less hostile to everyone except me. Especially about the death of our big brother, it has always been a scar in her heart—I think so. "

Jiro turned his eyes again to the photo, which showed the boy smiling brightly.

"It doesn't matter, you and his name are different…"Masaru hurried to comfort his new friend...or new family.

_'…Although I admit it's probably because I don't have any memory of my big brother, so I don't really care about him.'_ He said to Jiro in his heart. But when he realized it, his heart sank.

Masaru felt the air in the room suddenly cool, making him casual shiver.

"…Hey Jiro, what kind of person is dad? " Finally, Masaru broke the terrible silence.

"'Dad'?…you mean Dr.Komyouji? "

"Well, yes, I've never met my father and Mitsuko nee-chan won't tell me about him, so…I'm curious about him."

Jiro lowered his head, as if trying to think of an answer, and then raised it a few seconds later.

"He always spoke softly to me, and sometimes, with his back to me, seemed to be crying in secret. Just like Mitsuko-san did..."

"Is that all? " Masaru looked imploring, hoping he would say more.

"Sometimes I fall…asleep and open my eyes again for days. Sometimes I was reading a book and he would sort things out, or he would sit and look at me, that was it."

"Oh…"Masaru realized there was nothing more, and his expression became depressed.

"Everything around me is so desolate. It's totally different from what I see in the album. The world is destroyed, right?" Jiro suddenly asked the little boy.

"that's what it was like around me when I could remember, "the little boy's face a sad smile, "Mitsuko nee-chan told me that before the world was not so bad, most children grew up easily in a much safer environment, and they did not go to the city ruins to pick up garbage as I did every day. In such a period, even as a child, you can't just sit around and let adults feed you, and most importantly, Mitsuko nee-chan is not an adult until today—today is her 18th birthday."

"There is only the two of you, No one else?"

"Well, that's true over the years, except for the vendors and the mailman who often wanders from place to place. I tell you, the postman looked very young, only a little older than Mitsuko nee-chan! The mailman drives motorcycle back and forth, and we use coordinates to remember people's addresses."

"Is it through the mailman that Mitsuko-san does her shopping? "

"Sometimes, But the postman doesn't come every day because holidays, so most of the time we go to the ruins to collect supplies! There's always something there that nobody notices -- food, clothes, medicine and books! ... By the way, Jiro, have you ever read a fairy tale?"

"Fairy tale? "

"Right! It's some virtual stories that people write... Usually magic, princesses, princes... Of course, not all fairy tales are like this. Sometimes there are little boys and pirates who never grow up, or puppets who are given life. I love those! "

"I see...yes, I did, in the lab. "

"Really! ? Have you ever read Pinocchio?" Masaru's eyes lit up.

Jiro shook his head.

"Well, would you like me to read it to you?"

"Hum."

Masaru jumped up happily. He lived with his sister for so long, with no one else around, and the postman was very busy. Sometimes he yearned for company, for someone who would talk to him. So he quickly took the book and sat down beside him.

"Then I'll tell you from the beginning, a long time ago... "

Jiro looked at Masaru's face and listened as he told the story, the lonely carpenter wanted someone to accompany him, made a puppet called Pinocchio. One night, a fairy appeared in front of the puppet gave him life, and told him that as long as a good boy can become a real human, so Pinocchio embarked on a journey to become human......

Suddenly, he felt something soft in his hand. He looked down and saw Masaru put one of his hands into his.

"Sorry Jiro... Maybe Jiro is a Pinocchio too..."

Jiro was about to say something when the door opened. Masaru turned his head and saw Mitsuko come in with a plate, a cake in the middle of the plate.

"Masaru, come here." 'said Mitsuko, taking up a candle, on which the number 18 was impressively engraved with a knife.

"I'm sorry Jiro, but I'll read the rest to you, ok?" Masaru asked Jiro with a smile. After getting a nod from the other side, he ran to the table happily.

"Today is your birthday. Make a wish. It's said it will come true." The little boy said to his sister with a smile.

"Of course, the cake is yours, but the wish and birthday are mine." Mitsuko smiled and closed her eyes and put her hands together. About fifteen seconds later, she opened her eyes and blew out the candle.

"To eat. Jiro and I are going out."

"Where are you going? I want to come too!" The happy expression of Masaru disappeared and was replaced by depression.

"Come on, Masaru, will you stay and look after the house? Don't let thieves and robbers in."

"Okay, you always do that anyway..." Masaru's unhappy expression became more and more obvious, but finally he gave in.

* * *

Mitsuko didn't expect to be back in the old house so soon.

She took out the notebook that had been unused for a long time, after wiping the thick dust off its exterior, carefully pressed the power button.

The machine didn't start.

Mitsuko made an exasperated sound and began to look for the laptop's manual. What she does most in her spare time is to teach herself some skills, repair is one of them.

The girl took out the yellowed instruction manual and began slowly taking apart the laptop, trying to dust it off. She must be careful not to make any mistakes, or all her efforts will be in vain.

Time seemed to be infinitely elongated, everything around is very quiet, quiet, except her breathing no other sound. In this way, after do not know how long——

Press the power button again, and this time the screen lights up.

She succeeded.

The interface opened up, she connected the usb drive to her laptop, and soon she saw what was inside the gadget.

There seems to be a lot of stuff crammed into it——audio, video, pictures, documentation, and...

Files in unknown formats.

"What the hell are these..." Mitsuko stared at the jumble of folders on the screen, searching with her mouse for something useful. Finally, in the inside of a folder, she saw a document named after her.

She took a deep breath, moved the mouse pointer toward the file, and opened it.

Then a letter appeared to her.

 

_Mitsuko:_  
_It 's been a long time, when you see this letter, perhaps I have been seized by him._  
_Let's cut to the chase. I now let me hide a year of android left the lab, he looks like your dead brother and is named Jiro._  
_He has a device in his body that can tell good from evil. It is his heart, which enables him to think independently. This device is called the Conscience Circuit, or "Gemini"._  
_Unfortunately, the device isn't perfect, but time waits for no one._  
_So I hope you can repair his heart. This usb flash drive has blueprints about him, including... part of the "Gemini" blueprint._  
_Yes, to be on the safe side, I have divided the blueprints into many parts and hidden them in different places. Now there is the blueprints of the first part in the U disk. I have set the password, and I believe you can unlock it._  
_And the man who took me away, his name was Gil Hulbert, he was a secret people, used to work with me, and working with him was probably the worst decision I ever made. He led an organization called "DARK". For the purpose of... global domination._  
_Maybe Jiro is last hope…_  
_I'm sorry I got you involved in this, but I really don't have any other choice... I wish you well, and so does he._  
_—Dad_

 

Mitsuko wanted to throw the laptop against the wall angrily.

"That figures! We haven't seen each other in years, and that's all you tell me! ?"

The more she thought about it, the sadder she became. At last she sat down on the ground and cried with her face in her hands.

"Why is that... "

When she felt her face in someone's hands, she jerked her head up. In her tears, she saw a familiar face with a gentle smile.

Black hair, and black eyes.

" **Ichiro…brother…** " She murmured to herself in a trance.

However the next second, she sober up.

Those different color eyes looked at him. There was no smile on his face, only worry.

"Mitsuko-san…? "The android's voice was very soft and gentle, as if afraid of offending her.

The girl wanted to get angry at him, but she didn't do it because she saw his face.

"Mitusko-san's face, very soft, softer than the Doctor's," Jiro began to look serious, "Not like me, Masaru too, not like me."

"What can I do to be like you?" He opened his odd eyes, cautiously asked the human in front of him.

Mitsuko froze, and—

"You are fundamentally different from us." She resumed her malicious expression and fixed her eyes on him.

"... I know. I'm not like Mitsuko, Masaru and Doctor. You're all soft, but I'm not. I like and I envy you all."

Mitsuko didn't know how to answer him, and besides, she didn't like him very much, so the malicious words came out of her mouth.

"You're just a machine," she said, turning around and continuing to search for something else in her laptop folder, "I'm a human, you're a machine. You are metal and oil, I am flesh and blood. You and I are different things from the beginning."

"...Not just this aspect is not the same." She said, suddenly standing up.

"I just saw some files on the computer, and it looks like he left something to make the trip easier, right where you were born, you know where the lab is?"

* * *

Masaru squatted at the door, holding the empty shotgun, listening uneasiness to the knock on the door.

It's not he sister and Jiro—they will open the door directly; Nor was it the postman he knew—for every appearance was accompanied by the roar of a motor.

_'Robber? No, no, I don't think robbers would knock...Thief? Maybe the thief will knock on the door to judge that there is no one in the house... Oh my god what am I gonna do? All I have now is an empty shotgun! '_

The little boy crossed himself and prayed that Mitsuko and Jiro would come back the next second.

His prayer seemed to work. The knocking stopped, and the boy felt his heart in his throat. He hopes that the other side will not start to hit door—

A voice of conversation, a man and a woman, was heard outside the door.

_'Oh no! The other side is not a person! They have accomplices! '_

Then the footsteps came nearer and nearer.

Masaru trembled, he felt his heart jump into his throat. The little boy began to think about how he would fight the enemy with the barrel.

But the chances of victory are slim. After all, he was only a child, a boy of ten, who was surely no match for an intruder in strength.

What do people outside do? Will they break in? Or will leave directly? What would happen to him if they broke in?

And then, after a minute, he heard the two outside leave. He was relieved to find himself in a cold sweat.

"Whew..." Masaru touched his chest and began to breathe deeply, hoping to steady himself.

The little boy wiped his cold sweat and stood up, trying to find something to reassure him. Finally he put the Pinocchio in front of him.

"I want to know what happened next..."The boy looked at the book and wondered what would happen to Pinocchio next.

Suddenly, the familiar sound of a motorcycle pulled him back from the fairy tale.

Is the postman. He hurried to the door.

Outside, a mailman with blond hair and a hat sat on a motorcycle, looking for mail in tattered canvas bag.

" **Makoto!** " The boy looked at the postman and called out a name.

"Ah, Masaru-kun," the mailman said as got off the motorcycle, took out a letter and handed it to the boy. "where's your sister?"

"She's out...This letter is... ? "

"A man named Hanpei Hattori asked me to give this letter to your sister... Do you know him?"

Masaru shook his head.

"I've never heard of the name... Mitsuko never told me she knew this man... "

"Well, give it to your sister when she comes back, " Said the postman, holding out the right hand, "usual, gratuity."

"OK—"The little boy turned and went back to the room. A minute later he came out and put a coin in the postman's hand.

"Thanks! Will you please tell her that I am going on holiday in a few days, and that it may be longer than usual."

"Okey! Have a nice holiday!"

"Well, thank you, " The postman said and got back on the motorcycle, started the engine and left.

* * *

"Yes...... It's right here." Jiro confirmed, looking at the very secret door at the bottom of the hill.

"Has he been here all these years…?" Mitsuko muttered, her displeasure growing more and more evident.

She opened the laptop again to make sure her memory was correct.

"Oh yes, here it is... I wish I could find him in it." The girl said as she walked towards the door, which was made of iron, and the door opened with a shrill sound. Mitsuko walked in, found dark inside.

Groping for the button to turn on the lights, she found no one.

"Sure enough, he's gone again." She said darkly, looking again at the contents of her laptop.

"The destination is..." Mitsuko's voice is as small as a mosquito, she slowly walked to a bookcase, pushed the inside of the bits and pieces of books on both sides, she found an electronic panel can enter the password.

"It should be here..." She looked at the numbers in the file and fed them into the electronic panel. Then the bookcase and the wall began to move, and a new space appeared in front of them.

"Is there anything else in here, why is there so much room..." She walked slowly into the dark room and looked around.

The humanoid in the blue suit came in slowly. He knew it, but for the last few months the doctor had been there and didn't know what he was doing—

Suddenly he felt sick, a strange sound is ringing. Pain was coming from his head. A voice was whispering something inside his head.

 

_**"You're a machine."** _  
_**"You must obey orders."** _  
_**"Do what you have to do."** _  
_**"Come, obey your...'evil'."** _

 

When he came to his senses, his hands squeeze Mitsuko's neck, and the girl's hands were clutching his arms, looking pain.

"Mitsuko-san! "Jiro frightened, hurriedly to loosen the hands.

The just turned 18 girl, sat on the ground, her eyes closed and panting, face pale.

"Are...Are you all right?" Jiro took a slow step forward, but the subtle movement was noticed by Mitsuko.

"HE…HEHEHEHEHE…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! "

The girl let out a self-deprecating laugh, regardless of her newly pinched neck.

"Sure enough, you're just a machine! "

The girl turned her eyes to the humanoid, eyes wide, face wildly smiling.

"You're just a...mad machine."

The sound of glass breaking suddenly sounded, and then a huge mantis appeared in front of them. Needless to say, this mantis is a robot. And it's the new assassin from the mystery group.

He froze and raised his hands to his face.

These hands are completely different from Mitsuko's and Masaru's.

Why is that? Why didn't he realize it at first?

 

_"You are fundamentally different from us."_

_"You're just a machine! "_

 

What Mitsuko had just said to him came to his mind, like a nightmare.

"Just…a machine…"

"Just a machine…Just a mad machine…That's all! "

He whined, crossed his hands on his shoulders, and for an instant the appearance changed again—

The weird-looking android punches the assassin, fast and accurate, then nimbly dodges the assassin's blade and focuses the current on his arms—

  
"ELECTRO END! "

  
The explosion sounded, firelight splash, mantis into scrap, scattered on the ground.

It was all done in a minute.

Mitsuko stood up, leaning against something covered by canvas against the wall, and watched.

"If you are a human, that enemy is not so easy to defeat." She said coldly, watching the android change back into human form.

She inadvertently pulled the canvas down, so that both of the people present could see what was under the rag.

"Oh, that's it. Compared to cars and buses, motorcycles are the best choice in this day and age."

Mitsuko said, taking another look at the contents of her laptop...

* * *

 

Masaru was starting to get a little scared.

They have been out so long hasn't come back, nine times out of ten something is wrong.

He remembered the day a few years ago when Mitsuko had not come home as usual, and if he had not finally decided to go out and look for her—

NO NO NO, Mitsuko nee-chan went out alone that day, but now things are different. Someone is going out with her, and he's a android. It must be much safer than that!

Unless, the android was in danger, or he had come to them with malice in the first place—

_'Stop your malicious imagination!'_ A roar in his head stopped him from thinking, brought him back to reality from thoughts that might cause unnecessary anxiety.

He looked up and saw that it was already dark.

The little boy swallowed and turned his eyes to the coat hanger where his coat was hanging.

"Maybe...I've got to put on my coat and go find them—"

Suddenly the door opened, two he knew entered the room.

"Mitsuko! Jiro!" He ran at a gallop and hugged them.

"Sorry, we're late." Mitsuko touched Masaru's head, and there was fatigue in her voice.

"What have you been doing! ?"

"Sorry, we...Masaru, while I cook dinner, will you pack up your things?"

"Why?"

"We're going on a trip... Not to play, of course, but to find something our father had hidden. The important things."

"Are we going to find dad? !" There was a look of surprise on Masaru's face.

"Yes, but until then... We have to find the blueprints he left behind. He hid them all over the world."

"So we're going to travel? !" Masaru's eyes glistened.

"Masaru, I repeat, this trip is not for fun."Mitsuko said gravely to the boy, then smiled again. "Go on, pack up."

……

"By the way, this is a letter Makoto brought for someone else."After packing, Masaru handed Mitsuko the envelope.

"Will anyone volunteer to write to me? Well, that's the second time today." Mitsuko took the envelope with a wry smile, opened it and read the contents...

It was obvious that this Hanpei Hattori knew about her.

But she did not know the man, and if he was a great detective, there should be many people who knew him, they would only have to ask others.

She thought, putting the envelope in her coat pocket.

"It's nearly ten o 'clock. Go to bed, Masaru."

"Okey......good-night nee-chan."

"Good night."

As soon as the little boy left, Mitsuko's gentle smile vanished and was replaced by sullenness.

She still remembered the marks he had left on her own neck.

"Don't come here." As soon as he took a step in her direction, Mitsuko ordered without looking up, her voice as cold as in an ice cellar.

"Mitsuko-san…" The boy's expression was so innocent and wronged, if he had been a human, Mitsuko might have laughed.

_'But he's not human.'_ Next second, she thought.

"Jiro, listen up," she said, finally turning her head, her eyes fixed on him. " **you are my tool, my most important tool.** "

"I'm going to use you to find HE."

* * *

 

_("That's your target, the stupid in the blue clothes with the guitar on his back.")_

Standing tall outside the house, the man in dark glasses grunted unhappily.

"Shut up."

_("It's been hours since I stopped talking.")_

"…Tut." He had nothing to say.

_("Go, destroy him!")_

He covered his head again. The noise was too annoying.

"I don't want to end up like this. It looks like he just left the lab."

_("So what do you want?")_

"Ha... "

The fierce man sneered looked out of the far window.

"I'll fight him, and I'll do my best. But it's not the time. It's boring to do something too easy."

_("Why are you so troublesome! ? Just a piece of scrap iron... ")_

There was the sound of the bullet being loaded again, and the sound disappeared.

"You don't want to die, I know."

"Also—"

"—I'm **Saburo.** "

* * *

 

Kaoru is packing up. She is leaving the ruins.

"I can't stay here any longer...I've seen things I shouldn't have...I have to leave... "

The girl who is about to grow up gave herself a divination before she left and found the result was not good.

Kaoru wanted to cry, but in the end she didn't.

After all these years, nothing good had happened to her, and she was still lonely.

She seemed to feel that her future was dark.

So, when he appeared, she was desperate to hold on to him.

But…

Where is he now?

Has he fulfilled his mission?

Does he remember her?

Will he help her?


End file.
